Andy Murray still convinced he will step up to greatness

Andy Murray concedes he must find ways to improve his game before making the transition from grand-slam contender to champion.

Desire: Andy Murray still believes he can achieve greatness

After losing in the Wimbledon semi-final for a second year in a row, Murray is assessing how he needs to change.

He said: ‘I need to go away and work harder and get better. That’s all I can do. It was a good tournament and it was nice to be back playing good tennis.’

Murray will have another chance to end his grand-slam drought at the US Open but knows he must go to New York equipped with the confidence he can triumph.

‘I need to believe that, that’s the most important thing,’ he added. ‘That is what I’m working towards but it hasn’t happened yet and it’s not going to be given to me.

‘I’ll need to beat one or two of the greatest players of all time if I want to do it and I need to get better if I want to do that.’

There have been reports claiming Murray is considering whether to part company with coach Miles Maclagan.

For now, though, the 23-year-old is planning to take a holiday in the United States before tackling the North American hard-court season.

Tim Henman, who fell in the Wimbledon semi-finals four times, is convinced Murray will soon be back on the practice courts working on what he needs to add to make the transition from ‘nearly man’ status.And he believes even if any doubts enter the Scot’s mind, the pain of defeat will inspire him to keep working.

Henman said: ‘If you play through those different scenarios and one of those might be “What happens if I don’t win?”, you’ve got to use that as a motivating factor to work incredibly hard on all aspects of not just your game [but also] your fitness, to give yourself the best chance of achieving it. That’s the reality for Murray.’